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LMVT webinar: DOL proposed revisions to the white collar exemptions

It has been a busy July for the United States Department of Labor. On July 6, 2015, DOL issued its muchanticipated proposed revisions to the regulations governing the "white collar exemptions" (those for executive, administrative, and professional employees) under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The purpose of the revisions is to increase the number of employees covered by the Act's overtime requirements.

The proposed revisions raise the minimum annual salary level required to meet the applicable white collar exemption tests from $23,660 (where it has been since 2004) to an anticipated $50,440. The minimum will be adjusted each year. To be eligible for one of the white collar exemptions, an employee must be paid at least the minimum salary, be paid on a salary basis, and primarily perform certain “exempt” duties. The DOL does not appear to have proposed any material changes to the salary basis requirements or duties tests for the exemptions. The DOL projects that this increase will make approximately 44% of white collar salaried employees no longer eligible for the exemptions.

The DOL will accept comments on the proposed regulations for sixty days after publication. We do not expect any significant revisions and estimate they will go into effect in the first quarter of 2016. Employers should start developing strategies for dealing with the new regulations, including possible salary adjustments and reclassification of positions.

On July 15, 2015, Wage and Hour Administrator David Weil issued an interpretive bulletin regarding the misclassification of employees as independent contractors.

LMVT will review these and other Wage and Hour issues during a comprehensive Wage and Hour strategic planning and compliance webinar titled “Wage and Hour Changes, Confusion, and Compliance” on August 5, 2015, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Central Daylight Time, presented by Richard I. Lehr and Lyndel L. Erwin.

Richard and Lyndel will cover the following:

Proposed Salary Level Changes

Timeline to implementation

Self-audit

If not salary-exempt, what other pay options are available?

When to implement changes from exempt to non-exempt?

Compliance challenges

DOL's Administrator's Interpretation of Independent Contractors

Overtime Issues

Travel Time, Meal Time, Break Time

Working from Home or Anywhere: “Smartphone” Time

Employee Protected Activity

Enforcement and Litigation Trends

Richard has worked extensively regarding Wage and Hour matters and Lyndel served as a District Director for the DOL prior to joining Lehr Middlebrooks Vreeland & Thompson, PC.

The cost is $95 per connection site, with no limitation on the number of participants.

Compare jurisdictions: Employment & Labor: North America

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